WORLD

Underground protest at Bulgaria's Bobov Dol mines continues

AzerTAg.az

Miners from Babino pit, at the Bobov Dol mines in Bulgaria, continue their protest action on Wednesday as their talks with the management and trade union have failed, the public broadcaster has said, according to Novinite, Sofia news agency.

Around 10:00 local time, it was announced that the owner, controversial entrepreneur Hristo Kovachki had abandoned plans to close the mine, withdrew his statement to the Energy Ministry sent on Tuesday.

Staging an underground sit-in, more than 110 miners spent the night under the ground, demanding all their salaries since August and unpaid food vouchers, but also calling for clarity about the future of the pit which is facing closedown.

Some 1800 people work in the Bobov Dol mine, owned by Kovachki, 700 of these are at Babino.

Six hundred and fifty of them are to be laid off before the planned closedown of Babino, under a decision of the owner announced last week.

But the mine's management has also asserted remuneration will be paid regularly and vouchers will be handed out according to schedule.